The Flour War of 1775
How did bread prices shape life and order in Paris?
4.7 (22)
68 mins
Explore how Parisian authorities managed bread prices to maintain social order and protect citizens. Discover the tension between bakers’ autonomy and public needs, and how constant surveillance shaped the city’s food supply.
Ep 1:
Bread, Power, and the Price of Peace
In 18th-century France, bread was never just food—it was the fragile thread holding royal power together, policed by bakers turned reluctant agents of the state.
Ep 2:
Free Trade's First Fracture
As liberal reformers push free grain trade, a dangerous carve-out for Paris exposes cracks in the system, sending prices soaring and tempers rising across the capital.
Ep 3:
A False Calm, An Old Habit Reborn
A decade of uneasy calm masks unresolved tensions, as revolutionary France discovers that abolishing the monarchy doesn't abolish the politics of bread.
Ep 4:
Empty Stalls, Broken Ovens
Bakers who dare leave shelves bare face ruin, as police wage relentless war on hoarding, short supply, and the specter of conspiracy.
Ep 5:
The Storm Breaks Over the Halles
Sartine's scientific flour experiments spark artisan revolt, while contradictory policing and Turgot's fateful reforms ignite a nationwide uprising that storms the very heart of Paris.
Ep 6:
Ashes of a Failed Revolution
In the wreckage of the Flour War, a discredited liberal experiment and a wounded monarchy set the stage for lessons no one truly learned—until 1789.
Discussions (13)
Haven
Level 4 · 9 mo agoThis is EXACTLY right. The authorities knew that whoever controlled the bread controlled the people. It is wild that Turgot thought free markets would work when survival was on the line.
Howard
Level 10 · 8 mo agoBread police was a mess
Glenn
Level 9 · 9 mo agoThe Physiocrats were the original TechBros trying to disrupt a legacy system they did not understand. Turgot pushed a buggy update to the grain markets without testing and the end users bricked the entire platform.
